You're not alone if your body needs a hot shower first thing in the morning. The majority of individuals turn the handle all the way up to feel the warm water on their skin.
But did you know that taking cold showers should be part of your daily regimen as well?
Cold showers, to be precise. When you're the last one to wake up in the morning, these are the ones you dread taking. However, if you give them a chance, you could discover that you enjoy how you feel after taking one.
Regardless of your feelings about hot or cold showers, research suggests that both offer health advantages that you should be aware of.
What is it about cold showers that makes them so appealing?
The following are some of the advantages of taking a cold shower:
- soothes itchy skin
- awakens you
- enhancing circulation
- minimizing muscular pain after an exercise
- possibly accelerating weight loss
- lustrous hair and skin
Take cold showers to relieve itching skin.
Cold showers, according to Adam Friedman, MD, might help you resist the need to scratch if you have itchy skin or skin disorders that induce you to scratch.
In the morning, cold showers can help you wake up.
There's a jolt of shock as the icy spray reaches your body. This shock becomes more intense:
- heart rate
- oxygen intake
- alertness
Taking cold showers improves circulation.
Experts advocate cold showers for a variety of reasons, including improved circulation.
Cold water constricts circulation on the surface of your body as it strikes your body and external limbs. To maintain an optimal body temperature, blood in your deeper tissues circulates at a quicker pace.
In that sense, a cold shower has the opposite impact on someone with hypertension or cardiovascular illness than a hot shower, because cool temperatures cause the circulatory system to decrease inflammation, which can assist avoid cardiovascular disease.
After a strenuous workout, take a cold shower to relieve muscular pain.
Your muscles will rest and mend after a strenuous workout since cold water has regenerative characteristics.
Taking cold showers may aid weight reduction.
Brown fat cells, for example, may produce heat by burning fat. When your body is exposed to chilly temperatures, such as in a shower, they do this.
These cells are usually seen around the neck and shoulder region, according to Gerrit Keferstein, MD. So, it's ideal for showers!
Cold showers provide a healthy shine to your skin and hair.
Though scientific study on the impact of cold water on your skin and hair is limited, anecdotal data suggests that it has a good effect.
Cold water tightens and constricts blood flow, according to wellness expert Dr. Jacqueline Schaffer, MD, giving your skin a healthier radiance.
Cold water shuts and strengthens your hair cuticles, according to an article on the NaturallyCurly.com website.
In addition, unlike hot water, cold water does not dry up the sebum layer, which is a naturally lubricated barrier that protects your skin and hair.
Your hair may be more likely to develop stronger and healthier over time as a result of the impacts of cold water.
If you believe that taking a cold shower is impossible, you should reconsider your position. Compared to the huge number of advantages that come with a cold shower, the list of disadvantages is surprisingly limited.
The disadvantages of cold showers:
- If you're already cold, cold showers aren't a smart option because the reduced temperature won't help you warm up in any way. It might actually make you colder and lengthen the time it takes for your body to warm up again.
- They're also not a good idea if you're unwell. Because the chilly temperature may be too taxing on your immune system at first, it's better to ease into it.
What is it about hot baths that we enjoy?
You might be tempted to take a hot shower to relieve the tension of the day if you have difficulties relaxing or falling asleep at night.
According to Keferstein, this is a popular technique for muscular relaxation before bedtime since hot baths trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which makes us weary.
Other advantages of taking a hot shower include:
- relieves respiratory symptoms
- aids in the treatment of blemishes
- aids in muscular relaxation
Hot showers can help with cold and respiratory symptoms.
Standing in a hot shower and inhaling the steam has long been used as a natural cure for cold and cough symptoms. The steam and heat from the water can aid to:
- airways that are open
- phlegm loosening
- nasal passageways should be cleared
Taking a hot shower might help with acne.
Hot showers can help open up the pores of the skin, allowing debris and oil to be washed away.
Muscle relaxation is enhanced by hot showers.
Body tension is efficiently relieved and muscular tiredness can be soothed by bathing in hot water.
However, there are certain disadvantages to taking a hot shower.
The good news is that you don't have to fully abandon them. All you have to do now is lower the temperature and take care of your skin.
Some disadvantages of hot baths include:
- Showers that are too hot might dry out and irritate your skin. According to Schaffer, hot water damages the keratin cells found on the epidermis, the outermost layer of our skin. It causes dry skin by disturbing these cells and preventing them from locking in moisture.
- They can also aggravate several skin disorders. Higher temperatures cause the skin to dry out more easily, aggravating problems like eczema. Itching can be exacerbated by hot showers. According to Friedman, heat can stimulate mast cells (which contain histamine) to discharge their contents into the skin, resulting in itching. They may also raise your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure or cardiovascular illness, having a too hot shower might exacerbate your symptoms.
So, which is the best option?
What should you do if there are evident benefits to both hot and cold showers?
In an ideal scenario, Friedman recommends taking a lukewarm shower – to make it bearable — and moisturizing damp skin afterward.
Another option is to use what Keferstein refers to as a contrast shower, which is an age-old method created by Dr. Sebastian Kneipp.
Simply said, you should make the water as cold as possible and stand in it for one minute. When the minute is over, turn the water up to as hot as you can stand it for another minute.
For three to five cycles, alternate one minute of cold and one minute of heat.
According to him, the health advantages are due to the cold water restricting blood vessels. This indicates that 100% of the blood will go to the heart.
The hot water dilates the blood vessels, allowing all of the blood to flow freely again. This can aid with regeneration and cleansing by pumping blood thoroughly through the muscles and organs.